Instrument procedures (e.g., instrument approach procedures or instrument departure procedures) are used to provide specific detailed instructions for the operation of aircraft in the airport terminal area, and allows air traffic control (ATC) to reduce radio frequency congestion by communicating only the name of the procedure to be flown, rather than having to provide the verbose instructions otherwise required. For example, instrument approach procedures allow a pilot to reliably land an aircraft in situations of reduced visibility or inclement weather by using instruments onboard the aircraft or on the ground, such as radios or other communication systems, navigation systems, localizers, glideslopes, and the like. Published aeronautical charts, such as, for example, Instrument Approach Procedure (IAP) charts, Standard Terminal Arrival (STAR) charts, or Terminal Arrival Area (TAA) charts Standard Instrument Departure (SID) routes, Departure Procedures (DP), terminal procedures, approach plates, and the like, that depict and describe the instrument procedures for various airports, runways, or other landing and/or departure locations are provided by a governmental or regulatory organization, such as, for example, the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. These charts graphically illustrate and describe the specific procedures (e.g., minimum descent altitudes, minimum runway visual range, final course or heading, relevant radio frequencies, missed approach procedures) to be followed or otherwise utilized by a pilot for a particular approach or departure. A pilot maintains copies of these charts, in either printed or electronic form, for the various possible airports that the pilot may encounter during operation of the aircraft. For example, for worldwide operation, there are as many as 17,000 charts, and each airport may include multiple runways with multiple possible approaches and departures.
During the departure and arrivals phases of the flight, the flight crew of the aircraft is in a high workload situation. In the scenario of flying a STAR approach or a SID departure, level and speed restrictions need to be properly adhered to, especially in traffic-dense airports. Due to various factors such as weather, traffic, and airspace restrictions, among others, ATC sometimes needs to change the level and speed restrictions (i.e., in a manner that differs from the published procedure) of some of the aircraft flying in the airspace under its jurisdiction to suitably handle aircraft traffic in and around the airport. In these circumstances, ATC issues appropriate clearances to change the speed and altitude restrictions to some aircraft that are using these STARS and SIDS. Consequently, the flight crew has to be aware of these changed circumstances and needs to constantly monitor and execute these changed instructions. Additionally, the flight crew needs to be aware of the point when they need to switch to the chart-driven (published) restrictions, if they continue to exist. Further, there have been reported incidents wherein loss of situational awareness ensued and subsequent implications occurred due to non-adherence of such restrictions in an emerging scenario.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved aircraft display systems and methods that assist the flight crew during high workload situations, such as during the execution of airport departure and arrival procedures. Additionally, it is desirable to provide such systems and methods that assist the flight crew in managing and monitoring changes from standard terminal procedures, such as may be requested by air traffic control. Still further, it is desirable to provide such systems and methods that enhance flight crew situational awareness in high traffic areas, such as the terminal area within the vicinity of an airport. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present disclosure will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of this disclosure.